Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to join the Council of Europe Development Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The position remains as set out to the Noble Lord on 29 April 2019 in response to Question HL15270: the UK already has effective instruments to deliver development and investment objectives, including through our multilateral shareholdings such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and therefore has no plans to join the Council of Europe Development Bank.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, as part of talks seeking an end to the war in Ukraine, they plan to raise the issue of Ukrainian children living in Russian-occupied territories being detained and taken to Russia.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I provided to the House on Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children on 24 November. We remain, as ever, committed to supporting Ukrainian efforts to facilitate the return and reintegration of children deported by Russia.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners about securing Red Cross access to hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government strongly supports and advocates for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) being given access to hostages. Ministers and senior officials have discussed this in multiple meetings with ICRC officials in the UK and overseas. In line with their mandate, the ICRC has called for the immediate release of all the hostages and for access to them whilst in captivity. So far, the ICRC has been denied access to the remaining hostages in Gaza. The ICRC has no means to compel conflict parties to provide it access and requires agreement from the respective parties to the conflict to visit hostages. The ICRC facilitated the release of 105 hostages as part of the deal agreed between Hamas and Israel in November 2023. The Government continues to call for a humanitarian pause to allow for the release of the remaining hostages.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil servants in (1) the Cabinet Office, (2) Number 10, (3) the Ministry of Defence, (4) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and (5) the Department for International Development, are working on the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Prime Minister will lead the Integrated Review, which will report into the National Security Council, with support from a cross-Whitehall team in Cabinet Office and a small team in Downing Street. This is a whole-of-government effort with colleagues from all Government departments contributing.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many months the consultation process for the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy will last.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government paused its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy in April due to the pressing need to focus on COVID-19. We have formally recommenced the Review, building on the work done since February. We will engage with Parliament, the Devolved Administrations, external experts and wider stakeholders with an interest in our nation's security and prosperity. This includes our allies and partners, building on our ongoing dialogue on COVID-19 response and recovery. The Integrated Review will remain closely aligned with the Spending Review, to ensure that departments are equipped with the resources they need to enact the review's conclusions. An announcement on the Spending Review will be made in due course.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the practice of trying Palestinian young offenders, engaged in acts of provocation, in military courts.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Government continues to have concerns about Israel's military court system for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have advocated to the Israeli authorities the importance of fulfilling the internationally recognised standards for a fair trial. We are particularly concerned about continued reports of ill-treatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention, which we regularly lobby the Israeli authorities on.